There's at least one vegan in my life I've been able to convince to happily eat oysters, guilt-free. Oysters, I argued, are no more a living, feeling animal than a zucchini. They have no central nervous system, no face, no brain. They are basically a lump of protein -- that they are classified as animal rather than vegetable is a matter of science, but I see no difference in the morality of eating one than of eating a carrot.

Alas, unless they are convinced by my pro-oyster-eating argument, there will be very little for the average vegetarian to eat at Fishing With Dynamite, David LeFevre's new Manhattan Beach seafood spot (and the subject of this week's restaurant review).

There are French fries, thin and hot and crisp. There is a lovely farro and beet salad with arugula and feta. And there's a side of grilled asparagus with bearnaise, which makes a very nice accompaniment to one of the fish dishes but is hardly filling on its own.

I suppose, for the vegetarian with the small appetite, these three things could add up to a meal, especially if followed by the very good key lime tart. I have to say though, the meal would become far more exciting and fulfilling if it began with a dozen oysters.

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